Great Britain's Laura Stephens has said that she is pleased with how her European Games campaign came to a close in Baku this afternoon.
Stephens unexpectedly made it all the way to the women's 50m butterfly final before finishing the medal event in sixth place with a time of 27.49 seconds.
Despite not troubling the podium places, the 16-year-old was happy with another personal best time to end a week that also saw her pick up a bronze in the 100m butterfly.
After her race on the final day of swimming action in Azerbaijan, Stephens spoke to Sports Mole about her performance and what she can take from the European Games experience.
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Can you sum up how you're feeling after that race Laura?
"Yeah, I'm happy with that. It was another PB so I managed to bring it down well. I did a good one in the heats and then I managed to bring it down again in the semis, and to go for less again on the third one, I'm happy with that."
The times all seem to be moving in the right direction - do you feel like you're making good progress?
"Definitely. I've been stuck on 28s for a while on the 50m, but now I'm down to a good solid mid-27s, so I'm happy with that."
You weren't expecting to reach the final today - was it a bonus just to be able to compete in it?
"I didn't even think I'd make a semi to be honest! I was going into the heats, I wasn't ranked to get into the semi, then I did a good time and that got me in there so that was a nice surprise. And then to get into the final it was special!"
Do you feel like you've done yourself justice at this meet then?
"That was definitely a good way to end the Games for me."
How much confidence did you take from the bronze you won earlier this week?
"The bronze definitely gave me a lot of confidence going into the 50m and it will give me confidence going into future competitions and the World Juniors at the end of the summer. It will be good to take that forward and use the experience."
What can you take from the whole Baku experience?
"I think the multi-sports environment, that's kind of new to me. I've been to [the European Youth Olympic Festival] two years ago, so I have had a bit of a taster there but this was like a whole other level.
"Just the atmosphere in the Village, the atmosphere in the pool there, was incredible. It's just been a great experience and I've really enjoyed it."
And presumably it's all good practice for the ultimate goal of the Olympics?
"Yeah, definitely. Good practice and something I'll remember in the future!"
Barney Corkhill
